Rare signed Vallauris confit pot from Provence, complete with its matching lid and made from honey ochre glazed terracotta in the early 20th century, circa 1900–1920. Historically a high-form French marmite, this substantial pottery crock features a rounded body, two loop handles, a domed lid and a dark brown glazed interior. These pots were used for slowly cooking soups, stews and braised dishes over a wood fire.

Vallauris, situated between Cannes and Antibes on the Côte d’Azur, became one of Provence’s great pottery towns because its heat-resistant clay was particularly suited to culinary vessels. Long before Vallauris became associated with Picasso and postwar art pottery, generations of local potters produced marmites, pignates and poêlons for Mediterranean kitchens. Foucard-Jourdan belonged to one of the town’s longest potting lineages, documented in Vallauris from 1630. The base is clearly stamped FOUCARD-JOURDAN / VALLAURIS A.M., while the body carries the traditional No. 10 size mark.

Today, this large lidded crock makes a striking kitchen-island centerpiece, decorative storage vessel or sculptural accent for a sideboard, console or open shelving. Its ochre glaze works particularly well with French farmhouse kitchen decor, French country decor, Mediterranean decor, wabi sabi decor and organic modern spaces. Display it closed as a substantial piece of Provence pottery or remove the lid and use the body decoratively with wooden utensils or dried branches.